Litterbox problems…

[chevybunny]

I just adopted Bambi from the shelter locally last Sunday and i was told she was very good about her litter manners….well…she wont even poop/pee in her box. I changed her litter, her hay…tried putting it where she poops the most but to no avail. Could it be the change of houses/homes/smells? I’ve never had a “litter trained” bunny so im unsure how to fix this problem….

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Welcome!
Definitely and after a long time of having bunnies I have one who will not use the box since I brought him home-perfect habits in the shelter
It’s the new smells and also if there is antyhing that absorbs it will encourage peeing outside the box
Ii’d limit the area and ensure anything abosorbant (litter, towels etc) are ONLY iin the litter box so that your new bunny only uses the box

…

,..

Do you have any pictures you want to share?

[Beka27]

You have another bunny too (Blackberry if I remeber correctly?) Are they in the same area? Some of it may be marking as well, claiming the space as her own.

[chevybunny]

No, Blackberry and Bambi have never met yet. Blackberry has only been in my room and Bambi is in the living room right now..hmmm

[BinkyBunny]

It won’t matter if they are in separate rooms. Bunnies have a very good sense of smell, and so all you have to do is pet one bunny for a a couple of seconds and then if you interact with the other bunny…that’s it…they know….and the poopfest can begin. But not only that, it’s normal for a bunny to mark as a way of saying this is “MY” new home. Should get better once she’s settled in (unless she’s not spayed)  but still follow the advice that KK gave you because that is important in establishing what is HER area, and what is the general area everyone shares.

But don’t worry, just because this is happening doesn’t mean they are not litterbox trained. It means they may be territorial and once she feels secure and compfy then it may get better, but you may have to be prepared that when you go through bonding, you will have poopwars on your hand. Unfortunately that is just part of the process for many bunnies.

Once bonding is completed, that should get better.

[chevybunny]

ok, yea i will give her time, she’s only been here less than a week. i have been vacuuming the poops that are out of the litterbox every night so maybe that will help as well.i love vacuums lol.

[PEPPA GEORGIE]

Hello i am new here, but i have had lots of rabbits for lots of years and up untill this year never seemed to have one that was house trained, but i had about 4 in the room and i gave up really lol..

Anyway beginning of the year i bought bambi, they said she was 10 weeks but seemed alot bigger to me and she ran round the first day and did big pile in one place to did as i knew a put litter box there. Wow she just did it from then and did not have an accident untill she was ill and was too uncomfortable to get in box. Typical, she was the perfect houserabbit and i adored her, but she had a fight with my guinea pig and got an abcess which kept spreading and eventually had to be put to sleep. I have always had guinea pigs and all was normally fine, but this time it wasnt and i am kicking myself for not getting her a cage on her own in the living room. I miss her loads but have learnt my lesson. However, now i have two bunnies who were together in the pet shop and seemed happy together, baby ones for definate this time as very little, and i have been trying to house train them for the last two weeks. They are getting better and only leave little marking poos really, not wee or anything but i am having to keep putting them back in their cage for long times so get them to learn better. But one of them does sometimes leave wet ones around, like she was on half eating and didnt fancy the rest..

Hope this isnt totally the wrong place for this, as couldnt figure out how to start new topic and this one was related lol

………

Bunnies arent old enough to be spayed yet i dont think, but will consider when they are older. I was wondering whether they will get better with age, as when i have in the past taken an older bunny out for day or something they seem to do less poos everywhere. Sorry if i have rambled the whole story xx

[jerseygirl]

Welcome Peppa Georgie. Firstly, I am so sorry to hear about your Bambi. What a hard decision. Life is about learning and I feel the learning with rabbits is continual and dependant on the individual rabbit too.

Babies can take a while, and some can just naturally get it. Spaying will definately help in training too. Have you looked at the litter training tips under the BUNNY INFO tab? It does sound as if your getting there with the babies, especially if they are already weeing in a box. When you let them out, it is common for them to leave some territorial poop about. This should become less over time when they feel the new space is marked. Only allow them a small space at a time when increasing their space and provide a 2nd liitter box out in that area.

With the “wet ones” are you meaning wet poop? Uneaten cecals? You may need to adjust the diet a bit or get the bunny responsible checked out to see it is not carrying any bug that could cause this.

Older bunnies can get set in their ways if they have not been trained, but it is not impossible. Again, the older bunny was likely doing territorial poop.

** You’ve posted in the right forum.  One of the forum leaders might be able to split this thread so your question doesn’t get lost within this thread.  And given that you and chevybunny are both talking about rabbits named Bambi !

[PEPPA GEORGIE]

Hello Jerseygirl and thanks for your reply, you know i was so busy reading about bambi that i put my rabbits name down as bambi when it was actually bumble, cant believe i can get that confused lol although i do have three children a 5 year, 2 and half and 7 month so i will use them as my excuse…

yes you are so right about all bunnies being different i really learnt that from bumble.  How do you start a new topic??

Yes i have been giving them more space and they have three trays outside their cage and do really use them, i think you are right they are random droppings so think it territorial. Any tips to reduce that or shall i just wait for it to subside a bit, i am thinking of trying the cloth one. Also i have started hiding raisins in the litter trays as treats to encourage them to stay in there and think they are being rewarded for being in there dont know if it will work as started yesterday.

What age can i get them spayed? I think i am supposed to look for signs that they are ready for spaying,, I took a look at the spare cecals and they all look healthy but, just as though they got interupted mid meal, which is possible i suppose. i have been moving trays a bit as they left little pile right by tray so moved it over a bit. thanks again xx

[jerseygirl]

Tehe! re the name thing. It is easy to get confused. My mom used to call us about 3 of our other siblings names before she’d stumble onto the right one. I like Bumble. I recently named my newbie Rumball, I really liked the spelling Rumble but opted the other way in the end. I also had Mumble marked as a bun name some time ago.

I can notify one of the forum leaders to split this thread. For posting new topics, once you’ve logged on and gone to the forum you want (i.e. BEHAVIOR) there is a New Topic button at the top left side of screen just above the green bar labelled Topic.

Ok, back on topic! I do think the territorial thing does naturally stop. It does sound like it’s winding down if they only leave a few. What do you mean by the cloth one? Is that a cloth or towel that is scented by the rabbits that you rub about the place to transferr their smell?

What sex & age are the babies? Have they been properly sexed? Generally for males it can be from 4-6 months and any time after as long as the testes have descended. For females from 5-6 months and anytime after.

[PEPPA GEORGIE]

Hello, yes i always call my kids by all the wrong names lol.. I like the name rumble that is really cute. Yes the cloth thing was the scent one, not really managed to try it yet.

They are both girls as per the pet shop, but have checked aswell and they deff look like it. They are about 4 months i think as have had them about three weeks and pet shop said they would be anything around 11 weeks, not very specific. So think i have to wait a bit, although do worry as it more risky for girls to have op isnt it.

They havent started humping each other yet or anything so think they still not hit the hormones yet. I shall have to put some pics on.

Thanks for advice on how to start new topic, how do you put pics up and have a pic as your profile pic???

Bunnies funny arent they as the main bit they have been marking at the moment is the area under my babys chair, no matter where i put it they go under and do it, so have washed cover and swapped it for another for the moment, maybe they are feeling maternal afterall lol

xx Really glad i joined as love having people to talk to about my bunnies and dont think everyone i know wants to hear about it all.

[jerseygirl]

Really glad i joined as love having people to talk to about my bunnies and dont think everyone i know wants to hear about it all.

Haha! Yes, where all the same here I fear!

There’s been some updates done recently so posting pics has changed a bit. I think Binky Bunny posted about this in the Tech section, so that should help. As for Profile pic, the profile settings are the last of the updates so I’m not sure if it’s up and functioning yet. I can see some cuties in your avatar so that will suffice for now. But we’ll definately be needing to see more pics!

OK, since you’ve had alot of rabbits in the past, I guess you know what your looking for in sexing them. However, if you are not confident of what they are, I would urge you to get the buns checked out by a vet to get them officially sexed. Good idea for a general health check too. Have you got a good rabbit vet?
If you do have a male and female, you’ll be inundated with a litter before to long. They can breed from 3 months old!

That’s funny about the baby chair – perhaps they can pick up that baby smell.

[PEPPA GEORGIE]

Yes i will do that and hopefully get them spayed as soon as they are old enough.

Does anyone here have a house bunny that isnt spayed or neutered that they are happy with??? I know that it is important but was wondering if it is essential and if anyone has had any experience with not doing it.

Thanks again x

[felmotes]

they make better pets. they have less “undesireable” behavior: digging, marking, biting, territorial stuff.

also about 85% of unspayed female bunnies will die of uterine cancer before they reach half of their lifespan. if you want your bunny to live a long, healthy, happy, and CALM life.. get her spayed. i had a female rabbit as a child, and we didn’t know any better and didn’t get her fixed. and guess what? she died of cancer at 5 years old.

[Author]

Messages